wine and health

In my book Age Gets Better with Wine I have a chapter called “Wine is a Food” in which I emphasize the importance of wine as a part of a healthy meal. There is good scientific evidence for why this is the case, and a new study adds to the picture. Wine with food changes the way the fatty components of the meal are handled by the body. We all know that saturated fats are bad news nutritionally speaking. High cholesterol levels contribute to increases risk of heart disease and other problems, but it isn’t purely a matter of the fat content in the food. When the fats are absorbed and oxidized, they are converted into a particularly malicious form know as cholesterol oxides and lipid peroxides. This recent study, conducted by INRAN, the Italian Institute for Research on food and Nutrition, (a division of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry), recruited 12 volunteers who were given a meal with known cholesterol-laden meal consisting of a double cheeseburger. The 6 men and 6 w...

This week it was announced that a clinical trial on the use of Niaspan (a sustained release formulation of the vitamin niacin) to raise levels of HDL or “good” cholesterol, was suspended because of disappointing results. While it is well-established that higher levels of HDL (high-density lipoprotein) relative to LDL (its low-density counterpart) are associated with reduced risk of heart attack and stroke, the addition of Niaspan to the cholesterol-lowering statin drugs (for example Lipitor) has failed to deliver the same benefit seen in people who naturally have a high HDL/LDL ratio. In this recent trial, there was even a trend to an increased stroke incidence. Sales of Abbott’s Niaspan totaled nearly $1 billion last year, but development of several cholesterol drugs has been suspended recently due to lack of efficacy in preclinical trials. It seems appropriate then to take a few steps back and see what we know about what does work. Not smoking, along with exercise and a healthy ...